The present invention relates to non-impact printers and more particularly to high speed non-impact printers using light sources which totally eliminate the need for complex optical devices presently used in non-impact printers having comparable operating speeds.
It is well recognized that printers of the non-impact type are the most logical choice for printer applications in which high printing speed and high quality, high resolution hard copy are primary considerations. The preferred choice of non-impact printer and that representing the state of the art, is the laser-based printer in which a laser source is utilized to generate a beam of laser light which is directed toward a rotating member of polygonal cross-sectional shape and having a plurality of planar reflective facets which reflect the laser beam and cause it to sweep across a scanned surface. In order to print at high speeds, the rotatable member is driven at a very high rpm. A precision optical system positioned at predetermined locations between the laser beam source and the scanned surface focusses the beam to a substantially fine point and further serves to minimize errors introduced due to the physical limitations of design and manufacturing tolerances exhibited by the rotating components. In order to provide printing of good contrast, high resolution and precise registration, it is necessary to produce system components of extremely tight tolerances necessitating significant expenditure in design, manufacture and assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high speed non-impact printing system which achieves and even surpasses the printing speeds, print quality and registration quality of state of the art non-impact printers through the use of a system whose design lends significant simplification thereto and as one example totally eliminates the precision optical focussing system required in state of the art devices thus leading to an overall significant reduction in cost and complexity of the design, manufacture and assembly stages utilized in producing the system of the present invention.